THERAPY SERVICES
I work with issues such as anxiety, loss of meaning, depression, trauma, substance abuse, relationships, grief, ADD and ADHD. The following is my perspective on working with the three common presenting issues, Anxiety, Depression, and Trauma.
ANXIETY
Anxiety is a normal part of our experience of life. It can also become a demonstrative part of our life, putting up barriers from within, when we want to act or use our voice. It can light up our fears, and leave everything that is safe, in the dark. Cause us to second guess our choices, or where we stand in our relationships. Because anxiety can be disruptive, we can find ourselves in conflict with it, which is to say we find ourselves in conflict with ourselves.
There are also real reasons for anxiety, as well as value. To give a generalized example, what would driving a car look like without anxiety? Learning about your own experience of anxiety over time, can go a long way in being able to live with it, and potentially even playing a positive role in your life.
DEPRESSION
Depression can color the whole world with dead ends and hopelessness. The world can look fragmented and disjointed, replacing the spark of life with agitation and irritation, or a crushing grief. It can become too much. Test our resolve. Make us become intentional about going on.
Depression can also be a bit like a fire in the forest, in that it clears the way for regeneration. Making space for a new purpose or a new meaning.
TRAUMA
The dynamic of trauma often occurs when a person is terrified or excited by something happening to them, while simultaneously feeling powerless to do anything about it. The powerlessness can take root in the physical, in being an employee, in shame, in a lack of a voice, or any number of ways. People often feel stuck in that moment long after the fact. Intrusive thoughts tend to surface at inconvenient times, leading to more depression and anxiety.
One way to work with trauma is to understand the context of the event layer by layer, so as to process your experiences and make them smaller and smaller. It’s also not necessary to delve back into the trauma. Simply reclaiming the power to lead one’s own life is healing from trauma. That can include the awareness that the choice to revisit traumatic experiences or not, is yours to make.